The Crowned Swan
by DarthAleera
Summary: AU, set in FTL. Princess Emma escapes the Emerhal Castle to discover the Eleven Kingdoms, seeking adventures, and meets her true love along the way. Swan Queen, rated M for later chapters. Slow burn!
1. Escape

**Disclaimer :** I don't own OUAT or its characters.

**Summary :** AU, set if FTL. Young princess Emma escapes the Emerhal Castle to discover the Eleven Kingdoms, seeking adventures, and meets her true love along the way. Swan Queen, rated M for later chapters. Slow start, but it will worth the wait!

**A/N :** This is my first fic! And also, English isn't my first language, and I don't have a beta, so if you read something that is weirdly written, please, inform me so I can change it and improve my English writing skills. Oh, and I know Emma is pretty young, but don't worry, she won't always be ;) Enjoy!

* * *

Emma had been staring at the blank piece of paper for several minutes now. It had never been really easy for her to find the good words, but this letter was especially hard to write, and she didn't want to ruin it. She had been going over a dozen ways to write what she wanted to say, but nothing felt good enough to be put down on paper. She really wanted to say things right. But time was running, she had to hurry now.

''You can do it,'' she told herself in a slightly shaking voice, trying to give herself some courage.

The sixteen years old princess inhale and exhale slowly before dipping the tip of the quill – that she had been holding for quite a quite a while now – into a small bottle of black ink, and brought the plume to the sand-color paper, and just let her hand write the letter, trying not to think too much. Emma compose her message at once, stopping only few seconds to soak the quill pen with ink when there wasn't enough on the tip to keep writing. When she was finished, she blow gently on the paper, hurrying the ink to dry, and folded carefully the missive in three equal sections. There was no time to reread what she had just wrote, and she knew that if she did, she would simply rip off the parchment and start all over again. Once the message was folded, the blonde girl promptly took a candle and reached for a stick of green sealing wax that she brought to the flame, letting drops of wax land on the paper before pressing her family crest stamp in it.

Leaving the letter on her writing desk, Emma stood up quickly and looked at her candle clock; she only had minutes left. The young woman went quickly to her bed and took her black cloak before putting the hood over her golden locks, trying to cover her face as much as possible without obscuring her vision. She walked to the door and waited for a few minutes. When the candle reached a new mark on the clock, metallic sounds of the guard protecting the hallway rose from the other side of the door. The guards of the castle were starting their rounds on the floors; it was time.

Emma waited for the sounds of the steps to fade, and slowly opened her bedroom door before adventuring in the hallway. During all her childhood, the curious princess had watched the royal guards very carefully, learning the time and itinerary of their rounds, sneaking up on them to explore the castle in the night. She got caught a few times in the kitchens eating bakeries, or in the courtyard, training with wooden swords or bows, but she never tried to sneak out of the walls of the castle without permission. Tonight would be the first time.

The first floors of the tower were very easy to pass. Emma knew exactly where and when to go, and without a sound, the passed all the guards, who never noticed her presence. But she knew that she would never be able to pass the palace doors, even with a good distraction for the guards. That's why she had to escape through the second's floor window.

Emma only had a minute to act. She went straight to a very big flower jar in the hallway leading to the window and put her hand inside it to retrieve the rope - made of sheets - that she had hidden in it during the day. Relaxed that it was still in there, she ran to the window and opened the wooden shutters before tying the sheets rope around the thick pillar that was dividing the window into two arcs. She sat on the edge of the fenestration, facing the outside, and dropped the rope, watching it fall. A little bit shaky, she grabbed the rope near the pillar and pulled firmly on it, making sure that it was well tied. With a deep breath, she prepared mentally to let herself fall into the emptiness below.

''There we go,'' she breathed, eyes closed, pushing on the wall with her feet to leave the edge of the window. Hands gripping strongly on the rope, she balanced in the air for a couple of seconds and waited to be steady before going slowly down, helping herself with her feet. When she reached the end of the rope, she looked down, let go her grip on the sheets and landed on grass. The height of the fall made her land on her hands and knees. She felt pain in her legs and wrists as soon as touched the ground, but rose quickly to her feet, ignoring the pain, and start lurking as fast as possible towards the royal stables.

When she arrived, she felt immediate relief to see that the stables were empty of any human beings. The princess entered the barn, waking up some of the horses by making the door creak, and headed straight to an empty box where she had cleverly hidden all of her gear during the last days. She dived her hands in the straw and freed the breastplate of her armor before taking of her cloaks and placing the metal gear on herself, not without some struggles. Putting on an armor alone wasn't the easiest thing to do, even for someone who had experience, like Emma. When the breastplate was in place, she put on the rest of the protective gear as quickly as she could before tightening the cloak around her neck again. Then, she searched again in the straw and found the leather bag, containing some clothes, water, food rations and gold for her journey, and her sword. The apprentice knew that it wasn't the best riding gear, and that she would be uncomfortable on her horse, but she couldn't leave it behind. She knew that she would need it at some point in her expedition, and it was her only protection.

Finally ready, the young princess walked toward the box of a beautiful, fair mare and open it slowly. The horse shuffled its head and snorted while locking eyes with its young mistress.

''Oh, don't look at me like that.'' Emma could sense that her worse was getting tense at the sight of the armor, which was provoking a similar reaction from the beast each time. ''It's only for precaution,'' she added, petting the mare between its eyes.

Without waiting any longer, she saddled the horse and strongly tied her bag and sword to the saddle before leading the beast slowly out of the stables. She mounted it quickly and took the reins with both hands before squeezing the sides of the horse with the feet and legs.

''Go!'' The beast started galloping across the field immediately, heading for the castle bridge. Emma realized that this would alert every guards near the castle and the bridge, but she also knew that nobody would be fast enough to follow her, and there were not enough guards on the bridge to stop her.

''Come on girl!'' the princess yelled the encouragement as they were crossing the bridge, the gallop of the horse and the sound of the wind covering the noise made by the surprised guards, who were yelling orders at each other.

By the time they had snapped out of their astonishment, Emma and her steed were almost at the end of the bridge, heading for the dense forest at its end. The blonde turned her head to look behind them and let out a smile laugh, amused by the incompetence of the night guards.

Looking ahead again, she squeezed the sides of the horse again while speaking loudly, ''Yah!'' The mare started to gallop faster to the satisfaction of its rider, who wanted to put as much distance as possible between them and the castle quickly, knowing that the guards, or even her parents, would surely come to chase her eventually. Holding tight, Emma felt her heartbeat quickened as they were entering the forest, riding on the King's Road.

* * *

The heavy knocks on the bedroom door awoke Snow White first. She get of the bed, where Charming was still sleeping, and walked to the door, guided by the moonlight that was illuminating the room. When she opened, her eyes set on the panting guard in front of her. He had obviously run and was almost out of breath.

''I am sorry t-to disturb you, Your Majesty.'' He stopped for half a second to take a breath before talking again. ''But something happened.''

The Queen closed the top of her nightdress with a hand, looking at the guard with a slight frown. ''Take the time to catch your breath, Tyrald.''

Tyrald responded in a hurry, ''There is no time, Your Majesty. It's about the Princess.''

''What happened?!'' Snow turned quickly to face her husband - now standing behind her – who had just spoke. ''Is she alright?''

''Well, that is the problem, Your Majesty. She left the castle.''

''She what?'' Snow stepped forward with the intention of getting pass the guard, firmly decided to go to her daughter's room.

Before she could go too far, Tyrald lifted his hand to block her way while talking. ''A rider left in a hurry. We first thought that it was a thief, stealing a horse, but someone found a rope handing from a window of the Princess tower.'' He took a small pause to breathe and look at his king, who urged him to continue. '' We went to check in her room to see if she was fine, but the bedroom was empty.''

''Did you try the training yard?'', demand the Queen. ''Or the kitchens? The Library? She must be somewhere in the palace, she never leave it without permission.'' She was trying to hide her growing fear the best she could, but the hand that her husband put on her shoulder before squeezing slightly told her that she wasn't succeeding.

The royal guard answer quickly. ''We did, Your Majesty. She wasn't there. Neither were her armor, nor her sword.'' Snow put quickly her hand to her upper chest and hold her breath without even noticing.

''When did all of this happened? ''James saw Tyrald lowering his head slowly.

''About three candlemarks ago.''

''What? And you are only telling us now?'' The King's voice was louder, showing a mix of anger and worry.

''I am sorry, Your Majesties, but we first thought tha-''

Charming cut the man sharply. ''Is there anyone who went after her?''

The guard nodded quickly. ''Yes, Your Grace. Four men followed her as soon as they realized what was happening.'' Without waiting anymore, he raised his hand, presenting a folded parchment that was sealed with the family crest. ''This was sitting on her desk. I didn't break the seal, but it looked important.''

The Silver Queen reached quickly for the parchment and took it from her guard's hand. She broke the seal and unfolded the paper with shaky hands, and began to read as soon as the words appeared. Her eyes ran quickly over the words, written with her daughter's handwriting, and soon, tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. She closed them slowly, releasing the breath that she had been holding.

''Snow, what does it say?'' The brunette opened her eyes after hearing her husband's voice.

''It's my fault,'' she finally said with a small voice. Holding the letter on her chest, close to her heart, she turned to face her true love, looking on the edge of fainting. ''She left because of me.''

''What are you saying? I don't understand.''

Without a word, Snow gave the letter to her husband and closed her eyes again, letting the tears fall on her cheeks. She didn't care if Tyrald, whom she trusted completely, was there to see her cry. When James finished to read his daughter message, he looked at the guard and spoke softly, ''Leave us.''

''Your Grace.'' He nodded slowly, but stood still near the regal couple, looking at his king, silently questioning him.

''Send more men after her. It's the middle of the night, she is not safe in the woods,'' he finally said after a few seconds. ''And, Captain,'' added the king, putting his hand on the captain of the royal guard's shoulder, ''bring our daughter back.''

''Yes, Your Majesty.'' Tyrald bowed slightly before his sovereigns, and left them alone quickly.

Once alone with his wife, Charming took his wife gently in his strong arms and kissed her on her forehead. ''Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault,'' he said slowly.

''But it is. She left, James. What are we going to do?'' Snow clench her fingers on her husband nightshirt, still crying.

''Don't worry. We are going to bring her back. I know that she can handle herself until then.''

The Queen of Emerhal let out a long sigh and backed herself slowly to dry her tears. ''You are right. She can.''

''Of course she can. We taught her well,'' he smiled lightly at his wife. ''We will find her. We will always find her.''

Snow couldn't retain her own smile and nodded slightly, a little bit less worried. Her husband was right; their daughter was well trained, clever, and could easily handle herself of a night or two outside the castle. She had hope that her daughter would probably come back soon, by herself or with the guards.

But she didn't.

* * *

Five days after the night that she had left her parent's palace, Emma got her horse to stop near a small inn. She hadn't stopped in a village since her departure, avoiding people as much as possible, fearing that someone might recognized her.

But the night would soon fall, it was pouring down and she didn't to sleep outside for tonight. Looking around for a stable, she got down of her steed and walked slowly with it, her legs sored. The blonde untied her bag and sword from the saddle of the animal, and paid the stableman – who charged her higher than usual, using the young girl obvious inexperience with prices to his advantage – and pet the horse's mane before heading for the inn.

Once inside, the girl stopped just after passing the door and looked slowly around. She had been in other inns when travelling with her parents, but she had never entered one this small. There were only a few people sitting at the tables, drinking, not paying attention to what was going on around them. The place seemed quite old, and not very well maintained_. 'It's still better than sleeping under the rain'_, thought the blonde.

The sound of metal hitting wood filled the place when the Princess started walking towards the counter. The innkeeper looked at the young woman walking in his direction and put both of his hand on the counter. When she stopped in from of him, he took some time to glance at her armor before speaking.

''What can I do for you?'' he asked, mopping the counter with a rag.

''I would like a room,'' answer Emma without smiling, trying to look serious and older than she was, ''Please.''

The innkeeper stared at her for a few more seconds, obviously not used to see young girls wearing that kind of gear. ''Where did you get this suit?'', he asked frankly.

The Princess frowned a little, not unaccustomed to be asked questions. ''It's mine,'' she answered proudly. The man looked again at the equipment, lingering his gaze on the crest engraved in center of the breastplate.

''You're some kind of knight?'', he mocked the blonde.

The Princess put her chin up before answering, ''I might be, yes.''

The innkeeper raised his eyebrows before bursting into laughter. Emma clenched her jaw, offended by the reaction, and snapped, ''What are you laughing at, innkeeper? I am not the one mopping this dirty place.'' The words had left her mouth before she could stopped them and she silently cursed herself. The man stopped laughing immediately, and parted his lips to answer, but the Princess was faster, ''I am sorry, sir. May I rent a room, please?''

She looked at the man who gave her an old key before speaking slowly, throwing her knives with his eyes. ''Two gold pieces.''

Emma nodded and gave him the money before taking the key. She thanked him and turned around before walking to the room he had indicated. After getting into the room, the blonde automatically raised a hand under her nose, trying to block the disgusting smell. She looked around, trying to find the source of the scent, but didn't find anything that could generate such a stink.

''Great,'' she told herself. She let her arm fall to her side and looked around. The room was very small, with no window and the bed looked very uncomfortable. She wouldn't be surprised if the sheets, which were too small for the bed, were unclean. The Princess was convinced that the innkeeper had rent her the worst room of the place to make her pay for what she said. ''When will you learn to stay quiet?'', she scolded herself. The girl approached the bed and left her belongings on the floor before taking of her armor. Cleared of the burden, she lay slowly on the bed and sighed deeply. The bed was really as uncomfortable as it looked.

However, the girl was very tired. Riding and walking for hours in an armor was more difficult that it seemed, and she fall asleep almost instantly after her head hit the pillow.

When she woke up the next morning, Emma felt a bit of pain in her back, due to the discomfort of the bed. She stretched her body slowly, then get out of bed and put her armor back on. She didn't want to waste anymore time in the inn. When she got out of the room, she was surprised to see that there were more people sitting at the tables, eating breakfast. They were talking and laughing loudly, and Emma noticed then there were barely any women. Also, almost all the costumers were armed. Grabbing the grip of her sword, just in case, she passed the tables and went to the counter to give de key back.

She was relieved to see that the clerk was not the one that she had insulted the night before. She handed her key with a small smile, and headed to the door. When she passed a group of men, sitting at a table, she couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

'' …should do it! We haven't heard about anything worthy in a while, and this is big,'' she heard one of them say. The Princess started walking more slowly, intrigued.

''Tormhal is at least three weeks from here,'' whined one of the men.

One of his companions slapped him on the shoulder, ''So? Do you have something better to do?''.

The whining man didn't seem to have an answer to the quip, as he stayed silent. ''Heck is right. We should go,'' added another one. ''Plus, it's just one beast, and we are five. How hard must it be to kill a beast if we go together?''

''Well,'', started the man that seemed to be the oldest of the group, ''considering the fact that the King himself put the bounty on the monster, and the amount of gold he will give to anybody who kill it, I guess it's pretty hard to kill.

Not far from the group, the young Princess continued her way to the door, and left the inn with a smile on her face. She speeded up her pace and almost ran to the stable, where her mare was taken care of. She guided the horse out of the stable, after she had gave a little more gold to the stableman for feeding the animal, and pet it between its eyes.

''I hope you are well rested, because it's going to be a long trip,'' she said to the horse before kissing it. ''We are going to Tormhal.''

* * *

**A/N:** It's not much, but you'll get more soon! I wanted to say that a candlemark equals about 20 minutes. I'm probably going to use it a lot more, so…yeah. I have all the Eleven Kingdoms' names and crests ready, I will probably post them in a future chapter. I don't want to give too many things away at the beginning! I'm very opened to reviews and suggestions, by the way.


	2. The Apple Tree

**A/N:** Thanks so much of the follows and reviews! I'm happy that you found the first chapter interesting. I hope that it will be the same for this one, too ;). BTW, I'm still looking for a name for Emma's horse (I was thinking about Eowyn, but…meh, I don't know). Any suggestions? I might use them! Oh, and this chapter is a little bit shorter than the first one. It's taking me quite a long time to write (since it's not my first language), and I wanted to post the second chapter before the week-end (it's the Montréal Comiccon, so I won't really have time to write haha). Thank you for reading!

**Chapter 2 – The Apple Tree**

The journey was harder than Princess Emma had thought. She had been riding for more than two weeks, now, and her entire body was aching. She was tired, irritable and in pain. Riding with a full body armor wasn't a joy. Her horse was also showing signs of fatigue; its pace was slower, and it had to stop more often to rest.

But despite her exhaustion, the blonde never thought about stopping, or turning back to regain the comfort of her home. Since she had heard about the bounty put on a beast in the Tormhal Kingdom, she couldn't stop thinking that her leaving the castle was meant to be, that it was her destiny. It couldn't be a coincidence that she was in the inn, at that exact time when the travellers were talking about the monster. She knew that it was a sign.

Emma had leaved the Emerhal Kingdom – ruled by her parents – for a little bit more than a day now. She had first travelled on the Kings' Road, but, fearing that she might encounter guards or people that might recognized her, the young girl had took less taken routes. After her stop at the inn, a bit more than a week ago, she had decided to wear her helmet to hide her features, and disguise her age, but she had still been nervous that the guards might intercept her.

Even if she hadn't travelled that much during her short life, she knew where she was going and wasn't afraid to get lost. During her childhood – and her teenage years -, the royal girl had learned everything she could about the Kingdoms, and studied every map that the castle's library contained. She had been fascinated by the lands and the idea of travelling, for as far as she could remember.

When she and her steed had crossed the border between their kingdom and the land of Odhal, the Princess had felt a sudden release. The chances that someone might know her face in this land were a lot smaller than in her kingdom. Nonetheless, she only stopped once in a village to gather more water and food, but never stayed in a crowded place more than it was necessary.

The sun had been down for a while now, and Emma was trying to find a good place to settle down for the night. She followed a river, walking while her horse was following closely, and ended up to a small pond, in the middle of a clearing. She smiled lightly at the beautiful sight, and walked toward a big apple tree. The tree looked rather out of place, on top of a tiny hill, in a clearing where there was no signs of other apple trees.

After reaching her destination, Emma took the saddle of the horse. Although it wasn't the safer thing to do – she might have to leave the place in a hurry, who knows – the animal certainly needed to be freed of the burden. Once unsaddled, the mare went directly to the pond, and bent over to drink its water. Emma looked at it for a few seconds before sitting down on the grass, still in her metal gear. Rising her hands to her helmet, she took it off slowly and let it land on the ground before laying lazily her back against the tree. Closing her eyes, the Princess sighed and ran her hand in her very tangled hair.

She sighed again, more impatiently, the thought of cutting her golden curls crossing her mind. _Mother would kill me_, she reminded herself, rolling her eyes. The blonde, as a young girl, had wished multiple times to wear her hair shorter, for it was easier to use a bow or fight with a sword with short hair. But her mother would always get her to change her mind, praising about how beautiful she looked with the long, blond locks framing her face. She really looked…

''Like a princess,'' she let out quietly to herself. The young girl shook her head lightly, chasing the thought from her mind. She didn't want to think about her mother right now.

Keeping her eyes closed, Emma leaned her head against the tree and after only a matter of seconds, she felt asleep without getting out of her armor.

* * *

The morning after, a brown horse came galloping into the clearing, mounted by a young brunette in a riding gear. The girl frowned when she noticed a pale horse she had never seen before raising its head to eat the fruit of the apple tree in the middle of the clearing. She changed her own steed's course, rode toward the animal and opened her eyes slightly more to the sight of an immobile body laying against the trunk of the tree. She stopped her horse at the bottom of the hill, and quickly got off the animal.

Standing on the side of her mount, the brunette hesitated of a few seconds before walking slowly to the tree, curious to see who was lying on the ground. She first caught sight of the body armor that the person was wearing. Although it was a little filthy, it seemed to be in a very good condition, and almost brand new. She looked at the insignia engraved on the chest; a beautifully-shaped bow was drawn, and a sword was used as the arrow. The young woman knew that the symbol was the Emerhal emblem, for she had seen it multiple of times.

Her attention shift to the mess of blonde locks that were covering the stranger's face - that she could barely see - and took a few steps forward. She bent slowly over the frame and talked with a small voice.

''Hello?'' The brunette waited patiently, but seeing that the blonde stranger was staying still, she talked again, a little more loudly, ''Wake up.''

The young girl sighed and looked around before stopping her gaze on the armored body again. ''Hello,'' tried the girl one more time before putting her hand on the arm of the outsider and shaking it slowly. ''Wake up, it's not safe for you to sleep here.''

She shook with more strength, and, seeing that the person wasn't responding at all, she started to fear that they were hurt, or worst, dead. She quickly put her other hand on the shoulder of the stranger and shook strongly. ''Wake up, please!''

* * *

Feeling her body being shaken by someone – or something - Emma shot her eyes wide open and instinctively rolled on the side to escape the grip. Once steady on her knees, she searched the ground with both hands, nervously trying to reach her sword, not seeing very well because or her tangled hair obstructing her view. She clenched her jaw and promised herself to blame her mother later for that.

When her hand finally landed on the sheath of her weapon, the young blond rose quickly to her feet, and freed the blade from its scabbard. She heard a gasp coming from beside her and turned to face the source of the sound, make a swift move with her head to free her view from her blond curls. Both hands on the grip, the Princess raised her sword to the height of her waist, ready to defend herself.

The sigh of the intruder was not was she had expected, however. Instead of a guard, or a wild animal, like she had thought, she was looking at a young woman. Emma blinked frantically, almost like she wasn't sure that the person standing a couple of feet from her was real.

The girl looked like she was about her age, maybe slightly older. If she was, however, it probably was by only a year or too. Her hair was dark brown, and braided elegantly around her head, like a crown, and down on the middle of her back. Her eyes were even darker than her hair, and Emma could read a mix of fear and curiosity in them. The girl was wearing thing black pants, knee high boots and a white riding coat. Emma blinked again; the girl really was a vision.

''Wow,'' the blonde said softly before shaking her head fiercely, realizing what she had just said. ''I mean…you are just a girl.''

''So are you,'' was the answer that the Princess got from the stranger. Normally, Emma would have been insulted by the comment, but the brunette seemed to have said them without any harm meant, she only sounded genuinely surprised. When she spoke again, looking at the blade in from of her, her voice was slightly shaking, ''I did not want to startle you, I'm s-sorry. It's not very safe to sleep here, I just wanted to help.''

Has the brunette spoke, Emma decided that her voice was the most beautiful one her had ever heard.

When a silence fell between the two of them, Emma cleared her throat, realizing that she was staring. ''It's alright.'' Another silence followed the Princess' words as the young brunette gaze switch from the blade to the blonde.

The stranger offered her a tight smile, and hesitated for a while before talking softly. ''Would you mind lowering your blade, please?''

Emma raised her eyebrows and spoke quickly, ''Oh, yes, I'm sorry.'' She lowered the sword fast after apologizing. She hadn't even realized that her hands were still on the grip. She looked as the girl's smile was growing a little bigger.

''You come from Emerhal, am I wrong?'' The brunette asked, looking at the emblem on the blonde girl's armor.

Emma shook her head slightly while putting her sword back in its scabbard. The sound of the blade rubbing against the sheath made her horse snort and backing away slowly. ''You are not.'' She looked at the stranger, who gave her another smile.

''Your armor is really beautiful,'' she said with a bit of admiration in her voice, looking at the gear in awe. ''Not like the ones, her. They are dark, and lifeless,'' continued the young brunette while the Princess was securing the belt of her sword around her waist. ''You look like you are shining.'' Emma felt a strong sentiment of proud invading her, and stood straighter before the Odhal girl. She couldn't help the smile that brought the corners of the mouth up and parted her lips, flashing a row of bright white teeth. ''Are you a knight?'' The brunette asked, curious.

Emma stood silent for a few seconds, asking herself what would be the best answer. She knew that lying wasn't the best way, and she didn't want to be known as a liar. But, without knowing why, a small part of her wanted to say yes and impress the beautiful young woman that was standing before her. Sighing slowly, the blonde shook her head before answering, ''Not yet, but I will be, one day.''

''I'm sure you will,'' replied the stranger, making Emma smile again. ''Why were you sleeping here? I am sure that countless of inns or refuges would be happy to shelter a henchman like you.''

Emma looked at the ground and cleared her voice, ''Well, I…'' she shrugged her shoulders slowly, ''Some people are looking for me, and I don't want to be found.'' The Princess' eyes met brown ones again. ''And I like to sleep outside.'' She smiled to hide her lie.

''You are brave,'' replied the brunette. ''I wouldn't feel safe to sleep without a roof over my head…and walls to protect me.'' She let out a small laugh before taking a few steps toward the tree. ''But you should not sleep here again. It is a dangerous place to set for the night. There are vicious beasts in the woods surrounding this place,'' she said with concern on her face.

''Are there? Well, I guess that you shouldn't be here alone either, then.'' Emma smirked a little when she saw the other girl blushed fiercely, like she had been caught doing something that she wasn't supposed too.

''I…I…'' she began, looking at the grass as if it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

The blonde couldn't help to laugh a little. ''Fear not, I won't tell a soul, I promise.'' She smiled an amused smirk, looking at the brunette, who looked embarrassed.

''I am forbidden to come here, and I know that it's dangerous, but…it's my favourite place in whole land.'' _It's also mine, now_, thought the blonde before shaking her head slightly, surprised by the thought. She was relieved that the stranger was looking at the ground, or she would probably have blushed, too. ''I have come here almost every day of the summer since I was a little girl. I have been taking care of this tree for year, now.'' The young brunette placed her hand almost protectively on the trunk of the tree while Emma was watching her.

''It's a very lovely tree,'' said the blonde softly.

The phrase brought a smile on the other girl's lips as she raised her eyes again to look at Emma. ''Thank you. I am quite proud of it,'' she said, still smiling. ''But my parents won't let me come here now that creatures are lurking in the woods.'' She turned to look at the forest that was circling the clearing.

''I don't fear wild creatures,'' Emma said, a little too self-confident. The assurance on the blonde's features made her new companion laugh lightly. The Princess frown a little and crossed her arms on her chest, as difficult as the movement was in her armor. The brunette raised her eyebrows and spoke softly when she acknowledged that her reaction had insulted the other girl. ''Oh, I am not mocking you, I swear. It's only that you look very…confident.'' She gave the Princess a soft smile, trying to convince her that she meant no harm. The blonde couldn't help but smile back, softened.

''I simply know how to use a sword,'' Emma said after a few seconds of silence.

''Well, that makes one of us,'' replied the Odhal girl before laughing a little, followed by the blonde. The Princess unfolded her arms slowly and the girls fell silent, looking at each other. After a moment, the brunette spoke again, running her hand absentmindedly down her riding coat. ''I must leave, or my riding instructor will notice that I have been gone for too long.'' She graced the blonde with a tight smile before taking a few steps backward. Emma watched her move back, hiding her disappointment. ''It was very lovely meeting you.''

''Yes,'' simply said the Princess. She watched as the brunette walked away and mounted her horse back again.

''I wish you good fortune for whatsoever you are seeking in our land,'' the rider added. Before Emma could say anything, she instructed her steed to canter. As the brunette was riding away, the Princess realized something and ran behind the horse while shouting, ''What's your name?!''

The other girl glanced back, smiling, but didn't give Emma an answer and kept riding away. The blonde stopped running when she realized that the distance between her and the brunette was getting to big for her to hear anything, anyhow. She stood motionless for a while, panting slightly, as she watched the horse and its rider becoming smaller before disappearing completely.

Now alone again, Emma walked back to the tree and looked at her saddle and equipment before glancing at the sun. Its position in the sky told her that it was late in the morning. She would have to leave soon if she wanted to travel as much distance as possible before the nightfall.

Sighing slowly, she turned to look at the apple tree. She lifted her hand to touch the bark where the young brunette touched only a few moments ago, and remembered what she had said while she was touching the tree._ 'I have come here almost every day of the summer'_, Emma reminded herself. The blonde couldn't help but smile, realizing something.

The girl would come back.


	3. A Mother's Wish and a Girl's Name

**A/N**: Thank you guys for reading, following and reviewing! I just want to state out that the chapters are kinda fluffy for now, but it won't really last. Let me know what you think in the reviews! This was supposed to be divided in two chapters, but just decided to give you a longer one.

**Chapter 3 – A Mother's Wish and a Girl's Name**

Feeling the (unusually) cool wind of the summer night entering the bedchamber, Snow White stood up from her wooden chair and walked to the luxurious window-doors to close them. She looked outside for a moment and couldn't help but think about her daughter, wishing that she knew where the girl was. In fact, she couldn't think about anything else since the day that rebellious Princess had left the palace.

At first, she and her husband had sent as much guards as possible to search for Emma in the kingdom. They had found out that a pretty young blonde girl wearing an armor had rent a room in a mediocre inn, but they couldn't find the girl. All they knew was that she had used the Kings Road, heading north-east.

But now, after being two weeks gone, Emma could be anywhere in the land. There were little chances that the royal guard would find the Princess without asking for help to bounty hunters or nobles' guard, and that was out of the question. Snow and Charming were loved by their people, and by most of the other kingdoms, but they still had enemies. They knew that if they asked for help to other sovereigns or noble families, the word that their daughter was missing would travel fast in the lands, and that some malicious people might use that against them. It was safer to keep the information confined between the royal guards, the friends and the family.

"Snow." The Queen jumped slightly when her husband called her from their bed. "Come to bed. Worrying all night and depriving you from sleep won't bring he back more quickly."

She knew that James was right, but Snow couldn't help but fear for her young daughter. "I can't help it." She heard the sounds of her lover getting out of bed and walking toward her. She sighed slowly when she felt his hand on her shoulder. Her hand rose slowly and placed itself on her husband's.

"I know," he said gently. "I know. And I am worried sick for her, but staying awake all night won't help."

He watched the back of his wife's head as she stayed silent. The King had been concerned for his daughter since she had left, but now, he was starting to worry about his queen too. She was way less talkative than her usual self, she barely ate and she wasn't getting any sleep. He knew that Snow was not only worried about their daughter. She was also blaming herself for Emma's departure.

After a long moment, Charming broke the silence. "She will come back," he simply told the brunette.

"We should be out there, James," said Snow, ignoring her husband's statement. "We should be the ones looking for her." She felt the pressure of the King's hand clutching a little bit tighter on her shoulder.

"You know that we can't leave the castle for now, love," stated James with a gentle voice, trying not to sound too patronizing. "We can't abandon our responsibilities."

Snow turn around quickly to face her husband, who then could see the frown on her face. "Oh, so we are going to abandon our child?" she snapped, her voice louder that it had been in a while.

"That is not what I meant to say."

"Our prime responsibility should be to take care of our daughter," continued the Queen, taking a step back to put distance between her and her husband.

"We have a kingdom to rule, Snow," sighed James.

"And we have a daughter to find!" The former princess couldn't believe the words that she was hearing from Charming. How could he stay so calm while there only daughter, their beloved Emma, was gods-know-where? "Are you not worried about her?!"

James took his wife by her shoulders, locking gaze with her as he spoke firmly. "I am worried sick about Emma, Snow. I love her more than anything in this world, and I would give my life for her. You know that."

Snow looked at him silently before nodding, realizing that she might have let herself be carried away. "Yes, I know."

"I want to leave and search for her as much as you do, but we just can't. The guards did anything they could to find her, and us being out there with them wouldn't change anything." He let go of his wife's shoulders and let his arms fall on his sides. "Emma can take care of herself, Snow."

"She is sixteen, James."

"Exactly. She is almost a woman, now, and she needs to take responsibilities for her actions," he replied with a firm voice. "I trust her. I know that she won't attempt anything foolish."

Snow shook her head and spoke a little more softly. "She escaped with her sword and armor, James."

"I would be way more concerned if she had not. At least, we know that she as some protection with her." The King looked at Snow, who reminded silent. "And she did not escape, she left her home. You speak like she had been trapped here."

Snow felt her heart tighten in her chest. She turned slowly around and looked outside to hide the tears forming in her eyes. "That is what she felt like. Caged."

James placed his hand on his wife's chin and obliged her gently to look into his eyes again. "She didn't mean that, I am sure of it." The Queen stayed silent again, resisting the urge to tell him that he wasn't there when their daughter had stormed and opened up on her, a week before her escape. "She _will _be back."

"But when? When will she be back? I can't keep worrying like this, James. It's killing me!" She felt Charming's arms circling her and responded to the embrace by laying her head on his chest. When she closed her eyes, warm tears rolled down on her face. "I can't lose her, James."

He raised his hand and placed it on the back of Snow's head. "You won't. You are right, we should be out there, searching for her. I will leave tomorrow."

The brunette shook her head slightly against her husband's torso. "No, you are right. People are counting on us, here. And even if we find her, we can't force her to come back with us. She has to do it on her own," she said reluctantly.

The former prince simply nodded, even if his wife couldn't see the gesture. "We have to trust that she will be back." He watched while his wife slowly backed away and gave him a tiny small.

"I suppose we do." She sighed and brought her hand up to wipe the tears on the cheeks. "I hope that she is safe, wherever she is," finished Snow.

"She would not purposely put herself in danger. She isn't always responsible, but she is not that reckless." Snow nodded slowly, and James took a few steps toward the bed. "Come, you need to sleep," he said gently, somewhat relived that the conversation seemed to have calm his wife's concerns.

"Soon." She smiled softly at her husband expression of disbelieve. "I promise. I just need a few more minutes." She watched him nod and walk back to the bed. Once her husband was under the sheets, Snow turned around and walked back to the window-doors. She opened one of them and stepped outside on the stone balcony, closing the door behind her. The fresh and cool air brought chills all over her body and filled her lungs. She took a few steps on the balcony, and stopped once she had reached the balustrade. Placing her hands on the stone, the Queen looked up at the sky and stared, waiting for a sign that her daughter was alright. When she saw the falling star cross the sky, Snow closed her eyes and sighed, filled with an emotion that she hadn't feel in days; hope.

* * *

"Blue!" Snow White called out, looking at the stars. "Blue, please, I need your help!"

The day after she had seen the falling star, Snow had feel almost all of her concerns for Emma leave her. That night, she had wished for a sign that her daughter was alright, but she had gotten more; a way to get her back. Now, in the middle of the night, she was staring at the blue star, hopeful that help would come to her.

And she wasn't disappointed. The Queen turned around, smiling, when she heard a acute and soft voice behind her. "Snow White."

"Blue! I knew that you would come," said the brunette with excitement. She couldn't hide her joy to see the little fairy, flying and glowing near her.

"I am here, but it is not to grant you your wish, Your Majesty," said the Blue Fairy with a solemn voice. Snow frowned at her revelation, but didn't say anything, trusting that the fairy would have an explanation to give her, which she had. "I cannot interfere with her destiny. I know that you are very worried about her safety, and I am very sorry."

"What do you mean you cannot interfere?" The Queen asked, all traces of hope in her voice gone.

"It is not a coincidence, nor a foolish decision that your daughter has left your castle, Your Grace," answered Blue. "She was meant to leave, and she is exactly where she is supposed to be." The fairy smiled softly, trying to calm the Queen's concerns.

"But she is only a child! We can't leave her alone out there!" Snow's tone was higher.

"May I remind you, Your Majesty," replied Blue calmly, "that a similar decision have lead you to your own path, years ago."

Snow opened her mouth to answer, but instead stayed silent for a while, speechless. After a moment, she finally found her ability to talk again, "It was different."

"I must differ, Your Majesty. Although the circumstances of her leaving are different, the outcome of her journey will be similar."

Snow's eyebrows rose as she spoke, "Will she find love?"

"She will find more than love. She will find herself," said the fairy. "Your daughter has a very important part to play in the future of this world, Your Majesty, and that is why you have to let her go, for now."

The Queen couldn't find anything to say for a long moment before talking softly. "How can you ask a mother to let her child go?"

"It will take you a lot of courage, I know, but you will find it in you to trust that she will be back."

Snow let out a long sigh and shook her head slowly. "I trust her, and I trust you," she answered genuinely. Since the death of her mother, a long time ago, she had learned to trust the Blue Fairy as saw her as more than a protector. She was a friend, too.

"Thank you, Snow," said Blue with a smile. "I cannot tell you where she is, but I can promise you that I will look after her."

"I would be forever in your dept."

"Stay strong, Snow White." The fairy bowed her head slowly and flew away, leaving a trace of blue fairy dust behind her. Snow watched as the dust disappeared, and head back to the castle, her heart full of sadness that her last chance to find her daughter failed.

* * *

After she had left her favourite place on the land, Regina had quite a hard time stopping thinking about the blonde girl that she had met there. Growing up, the young brunette didn't have the chance to spend a lot of time with people of her age, and didn't make a lot of friends. In fact, she could not name a single person that she could really call a friend. She had some cousins or relatives that she liked to spend time with, but nothing like a really friendship. The girl that she had met at the tree was the first stranger of her age whom she had talked to in almost a year.

The stranger had made quite an impression on her. They didn't talk for very long, but Regina immediately felt like she would get along with the blonde. She couldn't help but wonder about the blonde's life and wanted to know more about her. Her armor had intrigued her a lot, and she was dying to know where the girl was heading.

Regina was now riding back to her apple tree, the day after their meeting, with hope that the other girl would still be there. A smiled bloomed on her lips when she spotted something sparkling at the base of the apple tree. It had to be the armor. She looked around quickly and the sight of the stranger's horse confirmed her suspicion.

The brunette stopped her own mount near the small hill and got swiftly on the ground. She walked to the tree and looked at the armor that had obviously been cleaned of the filth. All the pieces of the armor seemed to be there, although the sword was missing. Looking up, she saw some drenched clothes hanging from the lowest branches. The blonde had probably cleaned them too, in the pond, and hanged them to let them dry. Almost all the stranger's gear seemed to be there, but there was no sign of the blonde.

Regina looked around carefully and, when she was certain that she was alone, bent over to take the helmet in her hands. She turned the headgear slowly in her hands, looking at it from different angles. She had seen other knight's armor in her life, but she never got the chance to actually touch and examine one this close while it wasn't on someone's body. The girl ran slowly her fingers on one of the two wing shaped adornments, on the side of the helm. The details were exquisite; the girl must be part of a very rich family to wear such armor. Leaving the wing, her fingers found a little engraving on the back of the headgear, and the girl raised her eyebrows slowly before looking at it. She tilted her head slightly on the side while reading.

"Together." Regina looked at the helmet in silence for a moment and finally lifted it before putting in on her own head. She was surprised to see that it felt heavier on her head than in her hands and noticed that her vision was quite reduced, unable to see sideways through the Y shaped opening.

"It suits you well." Regina jumped violently when she heard the blonde's voice coming from behind her. She took the helmet off rapidly and turned around to face the girl without looking at her, her eyes fixed on the other girl brown boots.

"I-I…I am sorry, I just…it's…I had never seen one, or tried one, and you weren't there, and I thought that you wouldn't min-"

"I don't mind," laughed the blonde, making Regina stopped her babbling. The brunette, whose face was red from the shame of having been caught, put the helmet quickly on the ground, where she had found it.

"I should not have touched your belongings, I'm sorry," she said sheepishly.

"Apologies accepted," she heard the blonde replied. With a small smile, Regina finally looked up.

Her eyes first caught the sigh of the blonde's cloths, and Regina thought that she was right to assume that the girl was form a rich family. The attire had obviously been made to fit the girl's body, which was thinner than she had thought, and the fabric seemed of superior quality. The clothing was casual, made for riding, but was rather elegant. Her sword's belt was tied around her waist, and the girl was holding a line with two fishes hanging on it in one hand and a bunch of wood twigs between her side and her other arm. Regina's gaze trailed to the other girl's face, and she was surprised to clearly see her features. The mess that were her golden locks, the day before, appeared a little less tangled and were tied up in a ponytail. The brunette could now easily examine her strong jaw, pink lips and her green eyes. Realizing that she was staring, Regina cleared her throat softly.

"You took a risk leaving your gear here. I could have been a thief," she finally said.

"I figured that if there were creatures lurking around here, there shouldn't be anybody coming here. Therefore, nothing to steal, and thieves don't lose their time going where there isn't something to loot," answered the blonde.

"Clever."

"I know." Regina raised her eyebrows and laughed at the blonde's response, any trace of embarrassment gone, now. The confidence of the other girl was putting herself at ease.

"I was not sure that you would still be here, today," she said with a small smile, trying to hide the fact that she was quite happy that the girl had decided to stay.

"Well, I couldn't leave without knowing your name," replied the blonde, raising one eyebrow. A pink tint appeared again on Regina's cheeks, and the girl swallowed softly. She stayed silent for a moment, hesitating, before answering.

"It's Regina."

"Regina," she heard the blonde repeat. "I'm Emma."

"That's a very pretty name," said the brunette, smiling genuinely.

"_You're_ very pretty." Oblivious to the reasons why, Regina felt her heart skip a beat when she heard the compliment. She had been called pretty, beautiful and even gorgeous several times before, but there was something in the way that Emma had said it and her complete honesty that had an effect on the brunette.

The pink on her cheeks turned red, and she looked away quickly mumbling a small "You too."

"I know," answered Emma with a very cocky smile on her face. Regina looked at her again and couldn't help but laugh, despite her embarrassment.

"And very modest," she added, not without sarcasm in her voice.

"I've been told, yes," laughed the blonde. Regina sigh and felt relieved when Emma spoke again to change the subject, "I was going to light a fire and eat. Would you care to join me?"

The brunette looked at the fishes that was holding Emma and smiled at her. "I would be delighted." Emma smiled back at her, and put the wood that she was holding with her other arm on the ground.

* * *

After lighting a fire, Emma cooked the fishes that she had caught in the river and ate with Regina, who looked slightly disgusted that she had to eat with her bare hands. "Next time I leave on a quest, I will remember to bring silverware with me," was the answer Regina got from her "Eww…" after she had touched the fish with her fingers.

After the short meal, the girls watched the small fire consume while they talked. To her own surprise, Emma had opened up quite easily to the other girl about her relationship with her parents, leaving details aside, including the fact that she was royalty. Sitting on the grass, next to Emma, Regina had listened to her with strong interest, asking questions to learn more about the reasons why the blonde had left her home to travel in her land.

"Where are you heading, now?" Regina asked, looking at the flames dancing on the wood.

"Tormhal. I heard that help was needed with a beast, there."

"Yes, I heard that too. And what will you do after? Will you go back home?" asked the brunette gently, turning her head to look at Emma.

The blonde stayed silent for a few seconds. "I don't know. I don't think so."

"Won't your parents be concerns about you? You should let them know that you are well," reasoned the Odhal girl.

Emma let out a long sigh, knowing that the brunette was probably right and that her parents were surely very worried about her. As much as she wanted to leave the castle, she never intended to hurt her parents. "I probably shouldn't have left home like that, it was…cowardly," finished the blonde with a sigh, "but I cannot go back. Not now. I have to do this."

When Regina placed her hand slowly on the blonde's forearm, Emma raised her head to look at the other girl's eyes. "I don't think that it was cowardly. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to your parents. I envy you for that."

Emma raised her eyebrows slightly, and looked down at the brunette's hand on her arm before speaking softly, "Thank you for saying that." A small smile appeared on Regina's lips, and Emma lifted her gaze to look at them. She swallowed and inhaled nervously, all her confidence suddenly gone as she started to lean slowly toward Regina, closing her eyes.

The brunette felt her heart stopped when she figured out the blonde's intention, and closed her eyes, waiting. She could feel the heat emanating from the blonde has the girl was closing the distance between them. She almost let Emma kiss her before realizing what she was doing.

"Wait…" Regina whispered, stopping the blonde in her movement. "I can't…"

"Why?" whispered Emma in return.

"I am engaged, I can't…it wouldn't be the right thing to do. I'm sorry."

"Oh…" Her eyes still closed, Regina felt Emma moving away until she couldn't fell the heat of the girl's body anymore. She opened her eyes to see an obliviously disappointed young woman.

"They are very lucky," said Emma, unable to hide the envy in her voice. The Princess looked away slowly to stare at the fire. "You are…very nice."

"That is sweet of you, thank you." She kept her eyes on the blonde as an uncomfortable silence fell between them. After what felt like an eternity, Regina cleared her throat gently before speaking, "I should leave. I have been gone for quite a long time, now."

Emma nodded slightly, her eyes still on the flames. "Thank you for keeping me company."

"It was a real pleasure." The young girl rose slowly to her feet, and Emma finally stopped staring at the fire to look at her. She stood as well while the brunette walked to her horse, which was tied to a tree branch.

"Will I see you again?" asked Emma while Regina was untying the bridles of the horse. The brunette turned her head to look at her and gave her a small smile.

"I hope so. If your adventures bring you in Odhal during the summer, I will be her."

"Then, I will come."

"I look forward to hear about exploits, Emma."

"Do not worry, you will hear about them," Emma forced a cocky smile that made Regina giggle. She watched at the young woman getting up on the horse. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, and good luck." Regina smiled at Emma one last time before clicking her tongue to make her horse move. The golden Princess watched as they disappeared slowly in the horizon.

* * *

**A/N:** Again, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!


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